Manufacture of felt and like materials



- Patented Apr. 1926. p v

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT B. RUSSELL, OE MANCHESTER, AND HERBERT BBOOMFTELD, OF STOCKIORT,

ENGLAND.

' No Drawing.

. MANUFACTURE OF FELT AND LIKE MATERIALS.

Application flled llarch 5,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ROBERT B. RUssnLL and HERBERT BROOMFIELD, both subjects of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Heaton Park, Manchester, England, and Hazel Grove, Stockport, England, respectively, have invented new and useful Improvements in or Relating to the Manufacture of Felt and like Materials, of which the following is a specification.

In the manufacture of felt and like materials the felting properties of the fibres from which the felt is produced are mainly relied upon to produce the binding effect to cause the material to adhere together, it being well known that when a hat of animal hair is felted by rolling, beating and pressure, the matted hair is held together by the serrations on the individual fibers. The hair of animals is built up of a series of sections arranged in line, each section having protruding therefrom downwardly extending projections or serrations. When the fibers in a bat are moved back and forth under pressure while preferably being kept flexible by means of moist steam, these small projections or serrations, which extend only in'a downward direction, hook into adjoining fibers so that such fibers can no longer be moved root end forward, but can be moved only tip end forward, the hooks preventing all motion in one direction. As a result, the fibers become entangled and cannot be moved outward in the direction from which they have once moved,

thus forming eventually a closely packed felt. While felt is a relatively stable fabric,

it depends for its stability mainly upon the projections or serrations referred to, and individual fibers may be removed by pulling upon them with a force suflicient to overcome the resistance of such projections or serrations. .The object of the present invention is to utilize rubber or like latex to insure a more perfect adhesion of the fibres, to render the same harder and more durable, and to partially or completely waterproof the resultant product. The material is specially suitable for use in the manufacure of boots, shoes, slippers, vattach cases and the 'ke, but is app icable to a great variety of ot er uses, including floor coverings, wall panels, packing, matting, gun mountings and the like.

According to the invention, the latex,

1924. Serial No. 697,143.

suitably prepared by the addition of ammonia or the like to avoid premature coagulation, is added to the fibres at any stage in the manufacture of the felt, or when said fibres are matted together to produce the felt'material, the same may be saturated withthe rubber or like latex. Said latex may be used in conjunction with various filling materials, and with or without colouring pigments or dyes, care being taken to avoid the use of such materials which by .reason of acidity would tend to cause premature coagulation of the rubber or like latex.

The material during the course .of manufacture or afterwards may be passed through a solution such as alum dissolved in water or similar reagent, or dilute acids such as acetic, sulphuric or other suitable coagulating agent. Such solution is preferably heated to accelerate coagulation and also to render the rubber malleable or plastic and enable it to be rolled, pressed. or moulded. When it is desired, sulphur or other vulcanizing agents may be added to the latex, or felt, and the rubber content Vulcanized by any known or suitable process.

WVhen the fibres are added to the latex, the latter being in the pure form or diluted, or

mixed with other binding materials and with or without filling materials and/or dyes or pigments, to form pulp, said pulp may be strained or drained or the liquid con tents of the pulp may be kept so low that immediately the coagulant is added, the pulp assumes a form suitable for moulding, rolling or pressing into any desired shape or form.

Where a highly finished surface is desired,

ing a rubber solvent to the adjacent surfaces of two or more layers and causing the same to adhere together.

'Theimproved felt, owing to its fibrous,

tenacious and wearing properties, is suitable for most classes of Work in the boot and shoe trade as it can be stitched, channeled, skived, nailed and finished in a similar manner to leather. It can also be used in place of cardboard, leather board and like leather substitutes for the insoles of boots and shoes and latex, the body of solution is already incorporated in the material and all that is necessary in the case of attaching crepe rubber soles is to brush over the contacting surfaces with a suitable solvent such as naphtha and press the two together.

The material is ap licable to a large variety of purposes inclu ing steam or like packing, material for covering ships decks, matting and deck or gun mountings. In the case of felt for the soles of boots, shoes and slippers, or for purposes where it requires to be nailed or stitched to another object, the felt will preferably be built up of layers, with the fibresof'one layer at right angles to the fibres of the next layer or layers, thereby ensuring of a more homogeneous material and preventing the splitting of the felt where nailed or stitched.

The latex, suitably prepared to prevent premature coagulation, is added to the wool 01-- other fibrous material by spraying or other suitable means, the quantity varying with the hardness of the felt required.

The pressin or moulding of the latex treated felt Wlll preferably be done after coagulation of the rubber and While the rubher is in a plastic condition.

It will be seen that the latex being embodied in the felt, serves several purposes,

viz: (1) to bind the fibres together, (2) to waterproof the felt, and (3) to render the fie? adhesive. It also serves to harden the What we claim is r 1. The method of manufacturing rubber articles having a basis of felt consisting in impregnating fibers with rubber latex during the feltmg operation, coagulating the latex, subjecting the resulting material to pressure, and drying the material.

2. The method of manufacturing rubber articles having a basis of felt consisting in impregnating fibers by spraying rubber latex thereon while the fibers are under-going a felting operation, coagulatingthe latex by the use in the hot state of an agent capable of coagulating the latex at normal temperature, subjecting the 2 resulting material to pressure, and drying.

3. The method of manufacturing rubber latex thereon while the fibers are un dergoing v a felting operation, coagulating the latex by the use in the hot state of an agent which would be capable of coa ulating the latex at names to this specification.

ROBERT B. RUSSELL. HER-BERT BROOMFIELD.

normal temperature, su jecting the result- 

